Whiskey giant Jack Daniel’s latest global campaign, “That’s What Makes Jack, JACK,” created in partnership with agency Energy BBDO, is reminding viewers of what makes it legendary.
Launched in May, the campaign celebrates Jack Daniel’s Tennessee roots, highlighting the brand’s charcoal mellowing process, unchanged production methods, and small-town heritage in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the :20 “The Drop”
The Details:
- Across the broad audience, the :20 “The Drop” was an excellent performer for Jack Daniel’s, with the Cinematic visuals sparking good Curiosity while still allowing the brand and product to shine through:
- In fact, compared to the average alcoholic beverage ad over the past year, the :20 “The Drop” appealed broadly across age/gender, with nine in ten recalling the Jack Daniel’s brand (unaided) and one in two reporting positive intent after a single exposure to the spot.
- Viewers rated the product itself and the brand the Single Best Things about the ad at rates above the category benchmark (the latter at twice the rate). This indicates the strength of the storytelling on the authenticity of the brand.
- Most of the less positive commentary on the spot was related to a lack of interest or distaste of alcohol/alcohol advertising.
- In fact, compared to the average alcoholic beverage ad over the past year, the :20 “The Drop” appealed broadly across age/gender, with nine in ten recalling the Jack Daniel’s brand (unaided) and one in two reporting positive intent after a single exposure to the spot.
All Viewers:
- Among spirits drinkers, the :20 creative ranked in the top decile of the category in breakthrough and 87th in Relevance:
- Again tracking well above-norm across all creative performance metrics, connections were broad across age/gender of spirits drinkers, and a healthy 64% reported being more positively inclined to purchase the brand (+9 pts vs audience benchmark).
- Emotional profiling of sentiment on the ad among spirits drinkers reflects the Authentic and entertaining approach of the creative, in which viewers found both humor and nostalgia, with interest piqued among many:
- Viewer comments also reveal the success the brand achieved at making this audience segment crave a Jack Daniel’s as well as time with friends. Many mentioned the singular taste and/or quality of Jack.
Comments from spirits drinkers on “The Drop” :20
“I liked how this ad portrayed the quality and distinction of the Jack Daniel’s whiskey. I also liked how it portrayed how this whiskey brings people together.”
Female 36-49
“This ad is interesting and different. Visual scenes made the product stand out and the tone of the narrator fits perfectly with this brand.”
Female 50+
“It was so visually appealing. You guys are so very good at showing the drops go down in the thickness as they hit the ice.”
Male 36-49
“I liked the visuals and the message. It was something I didn’t know.”
Female 36-49
“I liked the information about the product in the video. The vibe was friendly and made me want to go pour some Jack in a Coke and hang out with friends.”
Female 21-35
“Captured my attention and gave me information on how it’s different from other brands.”
Male 50+
“The detail of pouring it with the ice in slow motion, plus the subtle details added make this a great ad. I want a cold glass of Jack Daniel’s right now!”
Male 21-35
“I like Jack and the ad perfectly represents how the drink is kinda rough but deliciously smooth.”
Female 21-35
“Captivating. Could not help but watch the entire ad while wanting to pour a drink myself.”
Male 36-49
“I think that it gave a really good description of the product and it looked amazing.”
Male 36-49
- iSpot media measurement does not reflect notable airings of the :20 “The Drop,” with the majority of linear Impressions delivered against the :15 “Starts Here” (a shorter form of the :30 “The Drop,” neither of which features the black-and-white-to-color ‘drop’):
- However, the visual storytelling in the :20 creative was far more persuasive to American spirits drinkers, suggesting opportunity to shift support to this ad (results for the :15 or :60 should also be reviewed).
- The visual drop in the :20 seems to have been a key connector with this audience in sparking craveability.
- However, the visual storytelling in the :20 creative was far more persuasive to American spirits drinkers, suggesting opportunity to shift support to this ad (results for the :15 or :60 should also be reviewed).
- The :20 “The Drop” ranks in the top ten spirits ads among spirits drinkers over the past 90 days (at #8), with Jim Beam seeing three spots land in the top ten on overall response:
- “The Drop” landed in the middle of the competitive set in persuasive ability (measured by Top 2 Box intent).
- “The Drop” :20 was well-received among drinkers of all manner of alcoholic beverages, and also enjoyed positive audiences among watchers/followers of a wide variety of sports:
- This offers opportunity for the brand to diversify media plans and optimize the budget while maximizing reach.
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Energy BBDO